NanoSafety/ NFFA project NFFA supported internship on NanoSafety - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

NFFA-Europe has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 654360

NanoSafety/ NFFA project

NFFA supported internship on NanoSafety

Noor Nawaz

Context

NFFA asked by the EC to be more active in the field of NanoSafety A set of actions considered Internship

Objective: establishing a state-of-the-art & compiling a report with the procedures in terms of NanoSafety put in place by each partner institution

Literature review: fields with regard to NanoSafety

Nanotoxicology: Health, Safety, Environment

Exposure pathways & related hazards (inhalation, skin, ingestion) Nanomaterials risk assessment & management (exposure & hazard assessments, hierarchy of controls)

Current laws & regulations (REACH, CLP)

Services & organizations working on NanoSafety currently (OECD, JRC-EU, OSHA-EU, NanoSafety Cluster…)

Future developments (new TGs (OECD), AOPs)

Literature review: fields with regard to NanoSafety Nanotoxicology: Health, Safety, Environment

• Health: Routes of exposure:
• Inhalation: most dangerous route of exposure to nanomaterials
• Little data available on dermal exposure and ingestion
• Safety: present higher fire-explosion risk
• Environment: aquatic eco-system suffering the most

Current laws & regulations (REACH, CLP)

• Framework Directive

89/391/EEC

• Chemical Agents

Directive 98/24/EC

• Carcinogens and

Mutagens Directive 2004/37/EC Workers’ Safety

• REACH Regulation

(EC) 1907/2006

• CLP Regulation (EC)

1272/2008

• BPR Regulation (EU)

528/2012

Chemical Safety

Literature review: fields with regard to Nanosafety

REACH: Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals CLP: Classification, Labeling and Packaging BPR: Biocidal Products Regulation

Services & organizations working on NanoSafety currently (OECD, JRC-EU, OSHA-EU, NanoSafety Cluster…)

Literature review: fields with regard to NanoSafety

NFFA

Figure 1. Institutions and organizations working on the topic of Nanosafety at the European and international levels

NIA: Nanotechnology Industries Associations, JRC-EU: Joint Research Centre of the European Union OECD: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, EUON-ECHA: European Union Observatory for Nanomaterials- ECHA: European Chemical Agency, OSHA-EU: European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, WHO: World Health Organization, NSC: Nanosafety Cluster

• Current topic of interest
• A lot of research & data, conclusions yet to be drawn
• Lack of clear laws and regulations targeting nanomaterials

 REACH annexes modified to address nanoforms, applicable from January 1st 2020

Literature review: Observations NFFA: Nanoscience Foundries & Fine Analysis State-of-the-art with regard to Nanosafety within NFFA

• Short questionnaire on NanoSafety Practices

Method

Nanomaterials characteristics Nanomaterials hazard & exposure (activities/processes, OELs, measuring devices) Risk assessment methods Engineering controls Administrative controls Personal protective equipment (PPE) Laws & regulations

• Short questionnaire on NanoSafety Practices

Method

Contact

• First contact through email with all of the partner institutions to request a

meeting

• 17/20 partners, for whom the questions were relevant, replied = 85%
• After meeting, summary report of the discussion sent to each partner

Figure 3. Map of the NFFA partner institutions across Europe (retrieved from [1] )

Results: Nanomaterials characteristics

• Majority work with powder or suspended in liquid
• 2 partners: application of the substitution principle  powder

form strictly forbidden

13 13 9 8 8 6 Dry powder Suspended in liquid Physically bound Thin films Nanowires Water soluble

Physical Form

Figure 4. Statistics on the physical form of the nanomaterials worked with in the partner institutions of NFFA

Results: Nanomaterials characteristics

• 4 partners: no data on any of

the physico-chemical properties & toxicity

• 3 partners: no data on toxicity

in particular

94% 76% 65% 65% 53% 47%

Chemical nature

Figure 5. Statistics on the chemical nature of the nanomaterials worked with in the partner institutions of NFFA

0% 35% 41% 47% 47% 47% 24% 24%

Physico-chemical properties and toxicity

Figure 6. Statistics on the physcio-chemical properties and toxicity of the nanomaterials worked with in the partner institutions of NFFA

Adequate equipment as suggested by NTRC (NIOSH Nanotechnology Research Centre) in Controlling Health Hazards When Working with Nanomaterials: Questions to Ask Before You Start

• Dumping/bagging: ventilated bagging or dumping stations
• Sand and abrasive blasting: blasting cabinet and fume hoods
• Spraying: ventilated spray booth
• Cutting: wet cutting/machining

Results: Activities

9 4 4 1 4 15 1 1 1 2 1 1 3 1 1

Activities and processes

Figure 7. Activities and process carried out in the different partner institutions of NFFA

• 2 partners: only values

for certain metal oxides (TiO2, ZnO) & CNTs

• All the other partners:

not aware of any OEL values that exist or that are used within their respective institutions

OEL values

2 partners use techniques for the measurement of nanoparticles in the air using:

• Spatial method
• Temporal method
• Direct reading instruments

 chemical speciation analysis (XRF) or microscopy & determination of the nanoparticles’ morphology.

• Particles in the air collected

then analyzed: sp-ICP-MS coupled to A4F for size determination

Nanoparticles measuring methods

• Majority: control

banding

• In most cases, not

directed towards the specific use of nanomaterials

• 3 partners have

considered it necessary to make a risk assessment for the nanomaterials

• Use control banding

tools such as Stoffenmanager or ART (Advanced REACH Tool).

• One partner conducts

cytotoxicity tests

Risk assessment

Results: Risk assessment

Results: Administrative controls

Topics:

• Definition of nanosubstance
• Risks associated
• Use of adequate equipment + personal

protection measures

• Training through seminars or lectures

2 partners:

• lectures + information sessions in future

Reason: NMs synthesized on-site  SDS do not yet exist

• NS: quantities worked with not

sufficient to be treated as separate waste.

• SDS, ECHA & OECD guidelines

used to dispose of the chemical waste.

• Basic action plan of

confinement, evacuation and assessment

8 6 3 General chemical safety NM specific Informal between co-workers

Staff Information and Training

Figure 8. Statistics on the staff information and training

5 5 7 Commercial NMs or… Specific to NMs handled… Do not exist

SDS on nanomaterials

Figure 9. Safety data sheets on the nanomaterials provided to workers

4 4 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 4 5

Environmental safety control

Figure 10. Environmental Safety Control measures in place. SB: Sealed Bags, SWS: Separate Waste Stream, FH: Fume Hoods, NS: Nothing specific to nanomaterials

Results: Personal Protection Equipment

• Gloves, nitrile, latex, neoprene
• 2 partners use body protection suits for cleaning & maintenance

activities

• 15 partners use filtered masks:
• 7 partners : FFP3 type for cleaning & maintenance activities

and protection against highly toxic substances

• 8 partners: normal half-masks, when needed

Results: Conclusions

Hazardous NMs:

• Airborne
• Insoluble or poorly soluble
• Heavy metals (Cd)
• Metals NPs (greater oxidation potential)
• High aspect ratio
• Bio-persistent (fibers, CNTs…)

Hazardous activities:

• Maintenance & activities
• Sowing, cutting, welding
• Spraying, abrasive blasting
• Weighing (often not ventilated)
• Transfer

Hazardous sources of exposure:

• Inhalation
• Skin exposure

Results: Conclusions

• Members of the NFFA consortium each have their own set of

practices depending on the type and form of NMs they work with.

• Powder form  more stringent methods of protection :

containment, confinement

• consensus among the partners that there is a clear lack of

general awareness

• Lack of standards and regulations directed towards

nanomaterials

• Majority of the research facilities are working with the powder

form & metals  most prone to pose risk to workers

• Bring more awareness regarding hazards

relevant to NMs & Nanosafety

• More data and guidelines with regard to the

safety of NMs

Outcome

REPORT

• Giving recommendations useable by the whole of the NFFA consortium
• Bringing awareness & sharing knowledge
• Potential establishment of general guidelines
• Literature review on the topic of NanoSafety
• Synthesis & compilation of the best practices of each partner institution
• Report shared with all partners with final observations

Conclusion & perspectives

• Literature review on the topic of NanoSafety
• Establishing a questionnaire
• First contact with all the partner institutions to request a

meeting to establish a state-of-the-art of the general practices with regard to NanoSafety

• Results derived from discussions with the partner

institutions

• Report and potential guidelines useable by the NFFA

consortium

Use of the

precautionary principle Identification of the MNMs Risk assessment

Hazard assessment Exposure assessment

Control Banding Risk management: Hierarchy of Controls

• Measurement devices
• Temporal and spatial

methods

Substitution Engineering controls Administrative controls Elimination PPE

• Containment
• Confinement
• Ventilation
• Awareness
• SDS
• Area restriction
• Wet methods
• Environment

protection

• Powder form
• Process

modification

• Basic equipment
• Respiratory masks

Review

Thank you for your attention

• CONTACT

noor.nawaz@esrf.fr + 33 (0)4 76 88 40 22

www.nffa.eu

References

• [1]. Nffa.eu. (n.d.). The mission | NFFA.eu.

[online] Available at: https://www.nffa.eu/about/ [Accessed 15 Aug. 2019].